California Dreamin' at the Dachshund Club of America National Field Trial
The morning of Friday, March 5 was a bit cool and foggy for the start of
the DCA 2004 National Field Trial at the Model Airplane Park in Chino, CA.
And that suited the host club, Dachshund Club of Santa Ana Valley, and exhibitors
just fine as it meant good scenting conditions for the hounds.Chairman, Steve Schultz and his committee meant to please the exhibitors right from the start. This was to be a catered affair. The day opened with a breakfast of Italian Frittata, fresh bagels and a variety of spreads and excellent coffee. The roll call and bracings finished quickly and a well fed group of exhibitors and beaters took to the field.
Judges Gerald Price and Carol Luetkens headed to the field with the 20 Open All Age Bitches at 7:50am. It took seven series to sort out the winners. When the fog cleared the standard longhair bitch, Priscilla, owned by Betsy Fortman stood as the Open All Age Bitch winner of the DCA 2004 National Field Trial.
Judge Carol Luetkens joined Judge Belinda Niebur in the field to look over the 14 Open All Age Dogs. There were some nice runs by the dogs and in the end the young standard smooth, Stuart, owned by Shiela and Bob Paske took the top spot. The future of the breed was clear as the second through fourth place were all under a year.
2nd place: 5½ month old standard smooth, Forest, owned by Tracy HunterThe gallery retired to the Secretary tent for a catered lunch of Potato Leek soup, gourmet ham and turkey sandwiches, fresh baked cookies and assorted beverages. Again the caterer outdid himself with a fantastic meal. Obviously an excellent choice on the committee's part.
3rd place: 8 month old standard wire, William, owned and bred by Selma McNamara
4th place: 10 month old standard wire, Butch onwed by Gerald Price
Click on image for caption and larger view.
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After watching some of the model airplane buffs doing some fancy flying with a biplane, I joined the gallery and exhibitors as we headed out to the field. Judges Julie Nielsen and Debbie James had a field of 28 Field Champions to evaluate. They did their job efficiently and after 3rd series announced the Field Champion stake winner was Shag, a standard wire owned by Jean Dieden.
It was a dream trio for Absolute with all three coats represented. The beaters got them a great line and there was no doubt that the experienced Field Champion, Shag took the title of Absolute Winner of the Dachshund Club of America 2004 National Field Trial.
Between the magnificent views; lush grounds with a more than ample supply of rabbits; excellent scenting conditions and the sight of all three coats in the Absolute trio, it was a Dachshund owners California dream.
